Daniel Whiteson

Physics & astronomy assistant professor

Q: What is your involvement in the LHC?

A: I work on the ATLAS experiment, a detector designed to study many different aspects of proton-proton collisions. My role is to ensure that the data acquisition operates smoothly. To record and filter the data from the collisions will require a farm of approximately 2,000 computers with eight central processing units operating harmoniously in union.

Q: What do you hope to learn?

A: We are exploring virgin territory. I hope we see something surprising! We could learn something that revolutionizes our understanding of the nature of matter and its interactions.

Q: How might this knowledge benefit the public?

A: This work helps answer the question: “What is our world made of?” This is a basic question in everyone’s mind.